Post by Ichibey on Sept 2, 2022 11:32:42 GMT
GRIEF AND THE DOPPEL SYSTEM
It starts with being a complete fool.
It starts with being a complete fool.
Techmages are bright young hopefuls, who take all the time they need to study their potential occupation before finally deciding on it. They gradually walk the road of a lifelong commitment to studying magic, and do so under the guidance of a wealth of mentors and institutions intended to help them grow and mature in their chosen field.
Wishmakers have none of that. They are abruptly thrust into a magically binding contract at an emotionally vulnerable age by a predatory creature that uses every psychological tactic in the book to get their consent, and conveniently leaves out the nasty details of the fine print. All in return for a single wish, possibly made on a whim or out of desperation, rather than what they would truly want in life.
There are no institutions of magical learning. Mentors are a scarce commodity as you could very well end up training your own competition. And the closest thing to such that you might have access to does not have your best interests at heart.
The Wishmaker's life is fraught with danger. If you're not careful, you could very well end up getting your head bitten off by a deceptively cute Hex. Worse, your competitors might just think it more convenient to kill you, rather than merely drive you out of their turf.
In short, a Wishmaker's life sucks, and odds are, the buyer's remorse of making a poorly thought out wish is just one of many reasons to wake up on the wrong side of the bed every morning, grieving your circumstances. Assuming you live to get into bed in the first place.
This collective GRIEF slowly and insidiously corrupts your Soul Gem, and unless you use a Grief Seed, you're doomed to become a Hex - often times without even knowing that such a tragic fate is your ultimate destination!
GRIEF
As previously explained in the Stats and Attributes and the Combat System threads, the use of magic works a little differently for a Wishmaker than it does for a Techmage.
Rather than spending from a pool of energy that reduces to zero, Wishmakers accumulate Emotion Points (EP) and Grief as they cast spells.
MAXIMUM GRIEF
Once your Grief Meter maxes out, your Doppel will automatically activate. While it is active, your Grief Meter and EP will reset to 0, and Grief and EP tolls will be disabled. The Grief-related ANGST penalty will be disabled during the turns your Doppel is active. The effects of this Doppel will be applied to your current situation, regardless of whether there are enemies present or not.
Once your Grief Meter maxes out, your Doppel will automatically activate. While it is active, your Grief Meter and EP will reset to 0, and Grief and EP tolls will be disabled. The Grief-related ANGST penalty will be disabled during the turns your Doppel is active. The effects of this Doppel will be applied to your current situation, regardless of whether there are enemies present or not.
PERMANENT GRIEF
Further increases to the Grief Meter, by your character or by others, will risk Permanent Grief. Permanent Grief is added to your character sheet at the conclusion of a thread, and cannot be healed or removed except by consumption of a Grief or Daemon Seed.
Each time your Grief Meter hits 100% after the Doppel ability has been triggered, you will earn 1 Permanent Grief point. If you start a battle with Permanent Grief, you will receive Grief-based ANGST penalties equivalent to 100% Grief. That is, a -5 penalty to your BODY, MIND, and SOUL stats.
The worst part, however, is when you reach 5 Permanent Grief.
So to sum it up:
Further increases to the Grief Meter, by your character or by others, will risk Permanent Grief. Permanent Grief is added to your character sheet at the conclusion of a thread, and cannot be healed or removed except by consumption of a Grief or Daemon Seed.
Each time your Grief Meter hits 100% after the Doppel ability has been triggered, you will earn 1 Permanent Grief point. If you start a battle with Permanent Grief, you will receive Grief-based ANGST penalties equivalent to 100% Grief. That is, a -5 penalty to your BODY, MIND, and SOUL stats.
The worst part, however, is when you reach 5 Permanent Grief.
So to sum it up:
- Permanent Grief starts at 0 for every new character
- Permanent Grief is incurred by overmaxing your Grief in a single encounter
- Using your Doppel does not automatically incur Permanent Grief
- Permanent Grief is only earned when your Grief Meter reaches 100% without your Doppel activating
- Permanent Grief can only be removed by consumption of a Grief Seed or the use of Artifacts that specifically state they have this function
- 1 Grief Seed = 1 Permanent Grief point removed
- Daemon Seeds have a similar ability to remove Permanent Grief, but are an inferior choice
HEX CHECK
So why is 5 Permanent Grief a serious problem? If you're familiar with the Madoka franchise, or have read up on the lore, you'll see this coming for sure.
Accumulating 5 Permanent Grief points put your character in constant danger of becoming a Hex.
Once your character gains 5 Permanent Grief points, they must roll a Hex Check at the beginning of every new thread, be it Combat or non-Combat. Failing your Hex Check can result in becoming a Hex. Earning any additional Permanent Grief points for any reason after reaching 5 will result in an automatically failed Hex Check.
At this point, your character can be considered lost. However, should this occur, you can speak to a GM about either allowing friends to attempt a special mission to rescue you, or about creating a new character with the same Experience Level as the one now lost.
Here's how a Hex Check works:
Once you reach 5 Permanent Grief, you must attempt a Hex Check at the beginning of every new thread.
Roll 1d100 and compare your result to your character's Level+SOUL.
If the result of the roll is higher than your combined Level and SOUL, then you have failed the Hex Check, and your character is now in a Hex State.
For example. Let's say Sayaka is at Level 20 with 50 SOUL, for a total of 70. If she rolls 71, she's now a Hex, in addition to being a goner who was very, very stupid. If she rolls 70 or below, then she gets to live for another thread. But her suffering isn't over, as you will see below.
Success at a Hex Check does not lower Permanent Grief. It only means you will have to roll again next thread, unless you lower Permanent Grief in the meantime.
Failure means that this character can no longer continue to be played, as they have become a Hex.
In this dire instance, you have two options- a rescue/redemption mission may be allowed in certain circumstances by the GMs if you have other players willing to come save your character.
Alternatively, you can start a new Wishmaker character at the same Experience Level with 0 Permanent Grief. See RESPECs for more information.
So why is 5 Permanent Grief a serious problem? If you're familiar with the Madoka franchise, or have read up on the lore, you'll see this coming for sure.
Accumulating 5 Permanent Grief points put your character in constant danger of becoming a Hex.
Once your character gains 5 Permanent Grief points, they must roll a Hex Check at the beginning of every new thread, be it Combat or non-Combat. Failing your Hex Check can result in becoming a Hex. Earning any additional Permanent Grief points for any reason after reaching 5 will result in an automatically failed Hex Check.
At this point, your character can be considered lost. However, should this occur, you can speak to a GM about either allowing friends to attempt a special mission to rescue you, or about creating a new character with the same Experience Level as the one now lost.
Here's how a Hex Check works:
Once you reach 5 Permanent Grief, you must attempt a Hex Check at the beginning of every new thread.
Roll 1d100 and compare your result to your character's Level+SOUL.
If the result of the roll is higher than your combined Level and SOUL, then you have failed the Hex Check, and your character is now in a Hex State.
For example. Let's say Sayaka is at Level 20 with 50 SOUL, for a total of 70. If she rolls 71, she's now a Hex, in addition to being a goner who was very, very stupid. If she rolls 70 or below, then she gets to live for another thread. But her suffering isn't over, as you will see below.
Success at a Hex Check does not lower Permanent Grief. It only means you will have to roll again next thread, unless you lower Permanent Grief in the meantime.
Failure means that this character can no longer continue to be played, as they have become a Hex.
In this dire instance, you have two options- a rescue/redemption mission may be allowed in certain circumstances by the GMs if you have other players willing to come save your character.
Alternatively, you can start a new Wishmaker character at the same Experience Level with 0 Permanent Grief. See RESPECs for more information.